Once the Legislature approves its budget, it is sent back to the Governor who has 10 days to review the budget. The Governor may approve the entire budget, veto the entire budget, or veto and reduce specific line items. The Governor may not add any items to the budget at this time.
There are several documents submitted by the Governor related to the veto process that are outlined below:
Budget message
A cover letter from the Governor and Lt. Governor to the Legislature outlining how the final budget was determined.
Veto parchment
A summary of vetoes and reductions by line item number, showing the amounts reduced by and reduced to, and any text that was removed.
Attachment A - line items
Provides the line item number, the name of the line item, the action taken (vetoed or reduced), the amount the item was reduced by and the amount the number is reduced to, and a one-sentence description of the action taken.
Attachment B - outside sections
Sections in a budget act, which contain specific provisions of law which govern the particular appropriations contained in the budget, make other special laws that usually apply for only one fiscal year, and amend the General Laws to implement permanent changes included in the budget.
Other attachments
Depending on the number of vetoes or reductions, there could be several additional attachments related to a specific budget.